Weather Station Hardware > What Weather Station Should I Buy?
Average life of a PWS. What's your experience?
weather34:
--- Quote from: mixer on January 27, 2021, 04:50:30 PM ---Hi. I'm hoping I can get some real-world experience here. From reading posts in this forum and online reviews, I'm seeing a trend where people are either replacing parts or entire units on a pretty regular basis. Out of curiosity, I've called both Davis and Ambient. What I found out, was that the average life of a PWS is about three to five years, and at that point some people buy a new one or the components. I was also told that it depends on where you live. With colder climates, windier climates, and coastal climates being the worst.
I know things wear out.....but I figure I was naive thinking 10+ years was more the norm for a $300 USD PWS
If anyone wants to post here I wouldn't mind hearing what your experiences are.
--- End quote ---
also consider your climate and location , myself exposed to long dry summers persistent high uv for months , living near the sea front exposed to strong winds all year round , saltwater corrosion, dense fog where dew finds its way in the smallest of openings. in the past i owned ambient,oregon neither went beyond a year without some form of internal component repair, ambient wind vane basically crumbled under the long high uv summer , the casing originally a dull white turn a moldy yellow ,saltwater corrosion on the thermistor board and bearings. high uv especially long periods plays havoc with low cost plastic designs though many manufacturers claim to use uv resistant methods the tell tell sign is the white turning yellow .
having dumped those to the dumpster cupboard and gave up i took the jump and purchased a davis vp2 in late 2017 never once had to repair anything and neither replace anything and it gets a regular 3 month service so i always have the chance to look for the tell tell signs but in 3 years not one. all i did last week was replace the CR123A battery though it didnt need it just a piece of mind .for me durability is one of the key factors when waying up cost the other availability of replacement parts if ever needed . third buy from a trusted reputable dealer dont be swayed by over generous online discounts you might not be in safe hands when you might need a part or an upgrade , ive seen 20-30% difference in davis weatherstations prices from various online sources the cheaper ones very rarely offer the parts availability.. a Davis VP2 offers a friendly upgrade path to add on extras yourself so its not always necessary to buy the full kit i.e VP2 plus you can upgrade as when funds permit.
if i get 10 years out of mine its money well spent i think.
my nearest neighbor has some fine offset rebranded similar to ecowitt model but the uv sensor is terrible it reads 3-4 points to high i believe it is not actually measuring uv it is using some formula as solar,uv is a single combined light sensor . correct me if im wrong but on inspection all i see is a single light source. the wind direction sensor is a bit erratic it bounces around like a yo-yo when the wind picks up think it could benefit from a diy weighted method to make it a bit stable in windy conditions. that said she paid considerably a lot less than I did and apart from the UV readings she is happy . end of the day its your budget , your hard earned money buy a Davis if you can justify you will struggle to find better in the consumer range.
chief-david:
The good thing with Davis is that if things go wonky, you can send it in for a refurb.
at the minimum you can get replacement parts easily.
miraculon:
My Davis VP2 was originally installed in 2011, and was taken down and moved. It was out of service for a few weeks in 2014 due to the move.
I had a problem with the humidity sensor, replaced under warranty back in 2011.
I have added sensors, DFARS, T/H station, consoles, Envoys, etc. The only other items that were actually replaced on the basic ISS were the "Aero Cone" and the tipping spoon rain sensor. These were an upgrade, and were still serviceable and did not need to be replaced. I still use the regular cone in the winter, but this one is not the original. Again, not due to any kind of failure, just to "upgrade" (whether it was needed or not).
Greg H.
Mandrake:
Its horses for courses and how deep your pockets are:
My original fine offset station (Maplin branded) lasted 10 years before transmission became erratic.
The newer fine Offset stations (ecowitt) are light years better and now modular so its easy to swap out bits or upgrade as you want. Of course the price has somewhat increased as well but they are substantially cheaper still than a Davis. Support for these are also excellent so don't let that put you off either.
If you have the money however no one will dispute how good the Davis stations are.
mixer:
Excellent. Thanks for taking time time to add some opinion and factual details. This is a great topic.
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